Santa Clara County faced with 'alarming' spike in COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, homeless shelters

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Santa Clara County officials discuss COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities and homeless shelters at a Dec. 3 press conference. Courtesy Santa Clara County Public Health Department.

Santa Clara County public health officials are warning of an “alarming” spike in COVID-19 cases among residents and staff in congregate settings in recent weeks, including a major surge in cases at one of the county’s largest homeless shelters.

In a press conference Thursday, county leaders revealed that 60 people have tested positive at the Boccardo Reception Center in San Jose, a 250-bed homeless shelter. This is the first homeless shelter outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic, affecting 56 clients and four staff members who tested positive between Nov. 23 and Dec. 2, according to county Deputy Health Officer Dr. George Han.

Even more striking are worrying outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including skilled nursing homes and independent and assisted living facilities. One located in west San Jose, Amberwood Gardens, has had 151 total positive cases as of Dec. 2, nearly half of whom were staff members. A second unnamed facility in San Jose has had 86 positive cases, 20 of whom were staffers.

The outbreaks affecting some of the county’s most vulnerable residents are a direct result of the skyrocketing community transmission of COVID-19 since the start of November, Han said, with the virus likely traveling into these facilities through employees infected elsewhere. The virus is more difficult to contain in care homes and homeless shelters due to close proximity and difficulty practicing social distancing protocols.

While county officials are working closely with long-term care facilities to protect vulnerable residents — many with chronic health conditions — he said it’s difficult to prevent outbreaks when the county is experiencing its highest case counts since the pandemic began.

“It is more dangerous right now in our community than at any other point,” Han said.

Across California, the seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases in skilled nursing facilities shot up from 41 in early November to 276 last week, well above the previous all-time high of 266 cases on April 28, not long after the pandemic began. In Santa Clara County, there have been a total of 1,837 cases in long-term care facilities, leading to 270 hospitalizations and 220 deaths.

Outbreaks in homeless shelters haven’t traditionally been a problem in the county and only occurred early on in the pandemic. The outbreak at the Boccardo Reception Center is the first since then, Han said, and has prompted county officials to quarantine all homeless clients and workers who may have been infected. Homeless residents have since been relocated into hotel rooms.

To prevent another outbreak, Han said county homeless shelters are requiring all clients to wear masks correctly at all times, are prohibiting congregate meals and are improving ventilation and social distancing protocols.

Seven people have tested positive at the South Hall homeless shelter in downtown San Jose over the last few weeks, but it’s unclear whether that was an outbreak or a typical number of COVID-19 cases, given the large size of the facility, Han said. A possible outbreak at the site is still under investigation.

Find comprehensive coverage on the Midpeninsula’s response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, the Mountain View Voice and the Almanac here.